Reg Meuross - Festival Patron

Reg Meuross first emerged onto the acoustic music scene in the 1980s with The fast paced duo Panic Brothers, and has, over the years of touring and playing solo as well as with many other acclaimed artists, developed a style that as Pete Townshend says “allows the listener to embrace the whole breadth of his work over many years without distraction… he sings in the neutral accent of an Englishman who travels the entirety of the British Isles, and tastes all its flavours, influenced by all its most profound national colours. In this he reminds one of Roy Harper or Ewan McColl, recent greats who went before him.”

Reg then went on to form the band The Flamingos which featured ex Graham Parker guitarist Martin Belmont, Bob Loveday from The Penguin Cafe Orchestra & Bob Geldof’s Band & Alison Jones of The Barely Works. They recorded one album called ‘Arrested’.
In 1996 Reg decided to go solo and has since released 10 highly acclaimed studio albums: The Goodbye Hat, Short Stories, Still, Dragonfly, All This Longing, The Dreamed And The Drowned, Leaves & Feathers, England Green & England Grey, December and Faraway People. Songs About A Train (out on February 2nd, the day of his album launch concert in Bridport Town Hall) will be his 11th, and is a collection of previously unreleased tracks, recorded between 2013 and 2017.  

www.regmeuross.com

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Reg Meuross songwriting workshop/Q&A - Open Up Your Imagination.

Before Reg sings his songs he will often recall the story of how a chance meeting, a face in the crowd, a news article or an odd phrase overheard, or just the sheer beauty and power of words were the impulse for an act of imagination that led to writing the song.

A glimpse across a crowded cafe of two rock ‘n roll legend lookalikes became a song about ‘Phil Ochs & Elvis Eating Lunch in Morrison’s Café’. The realisation that two of his great literary & musical heroes Hank Williams & Dylan Thomas died within a year of each other was the seed that grew into the imaginary meeting of the two poetic giants in a bar in ‘Leavin’ Alabama.’

In this session, Reg will demonstrate how he opens up his imagination and combines real experience, memories and what surrounds him with pure acts of imagination and will share with you an exercise or two to open up your own creative process, as well as answering your questions.
Suitable for songwriters and lovers of songs.

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Reg Meuross Album Launch - Songs About A Train

Some songs don’t stay still long enough and scamper off, some are dazzled by the dragonfly’s gleam. Some songs are right books put on the wrong shelves.” Stephen Jordan, Head of the Bodleian Music Library (1957-2015)
Bridport Folk Festival’s patron, Reg Meuross, has chosen Bridport Town for the SW launch of his next album.
Songs About A Train is award winning Somerset singer-songwriter Reg Meuross’ second sweep down the back of the sofa (the first being The Dreamed and The Drowned) to retrieve songs that have been recorded but have escaped inclusion in his studio albums, not for lack of quality but more a question of space, or suitability to the collection. So here we have 11 more brilliant songs that were unrequired at the time of production, collected and presented in a new album.

With several acclaimed albums under his belt now, including two successful solo albums December and Faraway People with the third on the way to complete the planned trilogy, and as a nod in honour and appreciation of his good friend Stephen Jordan, head of the  who commissioned The Dreamed and the Drowned and who died tragically in 2015, Reg felt it would be a good time to have a scratch around and see what else may have been overlooked. The resulting album Songs About A Train is another limited, signed release comprising 11 songs recorded by Reg between 2013 and 2017.

Songs About A Train may be less overtly political than Faraway People, but is still profound in its messages which will touch people on a really human level.
 
“One of the most talented storytellers of our generation” Pennyblack Music
“Powerful and moving songwriting” Martin Chilton, The Telegraph
“A mighty songwriter and an equally fine singer” Martin Carthy
“Time and again, Reg proves himself one of the key songwriters of our age” David Kidman
Mick Tems Folk Wales ”…every song from the gentle, enchanting genius is worth its weight in gold.”
“There’s something special about the way he writes and delivers a song” Townes Van Zandt